It's not just at home that you should be conscious of sound food hygiene. You can apply the same principles when you're out shopping for food. 

• Beware of overloaded or overly-warm chilled or frozen food cabinets. 

• Watch to see that the shop assistant washes his or her hands carefully between handling raw and cooked foods. It is also important that they clean or change their utensils between handling raw and cooked foods. 

• Report any unhygienic practices to the shop management or to your local environmental health department. 

• Buy any packets that have been damaged or opened. 

• Buy food from counters where cooked and raw meat are not separated. 

• Delay in getting all chilled and frozen purchases home and into the correct storage as soon as possible to avoid defrosting and spoilage.